It Takes Two To Fight A War, And Four To Win One
by Acexx
Summary: Severus is angry after Sirius plays his 'prank'. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's made the consequences of he and them clashing again quite clear. No matter, he'll just turn them against each other instead...
1. Snape's Game

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

"It's sad, isn't it? Pathetic really."

"What is, Severus?" Remus asks, trying to ignore the boy leaning against a bookshelf in the library as he returns the books he had been using to study to the shelves.

"The way you follow them around, stooping to their level when you could be so much more. All for the protection of people who have proven how quickly they'll turn their backs on you." Remus glares at the boy.

"I don't stoop to their level, I don't need their protection, and Sirius made a mistake one time. Don't speak of which you know nothing about."

"I looked into it, you know. I know why you were bitten and by whom." Remus freezes in his bid to stalk away from his fellow student, "'Werewolves are soulless and evil, deserving of nothing but death.' Isn't that what your dear old Dad said?"

"H-He didn't know any better."

"And he does now? Just like they all do? Tell me, do you think your friends would have reacted the same way if it weren't you they found out? If someone other than their friend were a Werewolf, do you think they would have looked past it then?" Remus bites his lip as he looks back at his peer, his nemesis, quite obviously the bane of his existence. And currently, making a scary amount of sense.

"Of course they would."

"Your Dad didn't. And isn't it true that he ran off for six months after you were bitten, only to come back because he missed his _wife_?" Remus flinches. It is true, and he does his best to never think of it, "Where do you fit in there, Lupin?"

"I-I…"

"You don't. You don't fit in anywhere. Except when you're being the other _actual_ Marauders' pet." Remus turns away again, tears in his eyes, "Well, run along home then Puppy, I'm sure your owners are waiting to see how they can use your intellect for the next childish prank that you don't want to take part in but will anyway because you _know_ that if you aren't useful, if you don't go along with it, they'll leave you. Just like your Dad."

Remus hurries out of the library, wiping tears from his eyes.

* * *

When Remus reaches the tower, he enters the common room, speed walking towards the dorm, wanting nothing more than to shut himself into his four-poster and pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist for a while.

"You all right, Moony?" James calls worriedly from the couch in the common room.

"I don't need your help, Potter!" Remus snaps before storming up to his room.

"Call me crazy, but I don't think studying went well," Sirius comments, James rolls his eyes at him.

"Should we go check on him?" Peter asks.

"Yes, Wormtail, _obviously_ we're going to go check on him," James says, "Honestly," He adds before muttering dire things all the way up the stairs.

"Apparently everyone's in a mood today," Sirius states.

"Just because other people actually _have_ feelings –"

" _What_ did you just say to me?" Peter glares at him and, unexpectedly, does not back down.

"You are selfish and a dick with no concept of sympathy or empathy and only ever care about yourself. You make other people miserable to cover your own misery and take your own frustrations out on other people because you learnt emotional control from your arsehole Father and crazy bitch of a Mother. Or at least, that's what I _meant_ to say." The whole common room is frozen for a moment before Sirius turns and storms out of the portrait hole. Peter glares at the ground as he goes up to his dormitory.

As the door opens they hear "I AM NOT YOUR DAMNED _PET_ JAMES POTTER!" Frank Longbottom lets out a low whistle.

"Well, that escalated quickly."

* * *

The next morning is an awkward affair to say the least. The Marauders are at odds again, only this is far far different. Last time, it was clear that Black had crossed a line, but it was just as clear that eventually Lupin would forgive him and all would be well.

Here though, the school watched as the four sat together like usual. They do not joke around like usual, nor do they ignore each other as they normally did when having a tiff.

"Morning lads," Sirius says as he takes a seat.

"Where the hell were you last night?" James asks, looking annoyed, "Could have used your help," He adds under his breath.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I'm such a nightmare to deal with," Remus snarls, Sirius' eyes widen.

"Still in a mood then." Remus glares at him, "Yes, you'll have to excuse my lack of empathy, see, apparently I don't have feelings of any kind except those revolving around my own vanity," Sirius tells him, Peter huffs.

"All right, that _might_ have been a tad harsh."

"You called my mother a crazy bitch," Sirius bites.

"What the hell happened between you two?" James asks, completely lost.

"Peter was a major twat for no reason."

"Living with you for six years seems like a damned good reason to me."

"What the hell is going on with you?"

"Oh, so you lot can say whatever the hell you like about me, treat me like crap, like I'm your little errand boy, but when I get sick of it _I'm_ the bad guy?" Remus snickers darkly.

"Yes, because _your_ life is so damned hard."

"Well yours would be a lot easier if you stopped feeling sorry for yourself!" James snaps at Remus. Peter, Sirius, and Remus look at him in shock, "Oh don't look at me like that, I'm not here to calm you all down whenever one of you is having a temper tantrum."

"As opposed to us putting up with your hissy fits every time Evans rejects you?" Sirius asks cruelly.

"Or yours whenever you're reminded of the family that doesn't want you?" Remus asks Sirius who glares icily.

"Well you'd know all about family not wanting you, wouldn't you?" The four glare at each other before they all get up, walk out of the Hall, and go off in separate directions without another word.

Everyone looks around, unsure what to do. No one notices Severus Snape's accomplished look. No one, that is, but Lily.


	2. 1 James

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

James heads to the Quidditch pitch, grabbing one of the school's brooms from the locker before heading out to fly. He ditches some quaffles into the rings as he thinks.

 _What even just happened? What was I thinking? Throwing Moony in Remus' face like that? And Remus bringing up the Blacks, offending my_ brother _like that? Not okay! Not even remotely okay! Nor is it okay that Pete apparently did the same damned thing!_ James misses the hoop slightly, the quaffle bounces off the ring and hits him in the face.

 _What the hell is Pete so angry about anyway? I know him, he's been my best mate since pre-school, how could I have possibly missed him being so upset? I know I spend a lot of time with Sirius now, but the four of us are so close in general, surely I should have noticed?_ James lands, hurling the quaffle at the ground. When that does nothing to alleviate his frustration, he hurls his borrowed broom onto the ground as well, snapping the crap-stick in half.

"I'm quite literally going to pay for that, aren't I?" He asks the air.

"Shouldn't be a problem for you, should it?" James spins, finding Evans standing at the entrance to the pitch.

"Evans, erm, hi?" He says, though it comes out as a question. He rubs the back of his neck bashfully, "How, um, how much of that did you see?"

"I choose to believe it was fate that brought me out here in time to see you hit yourself in the face with the quaffle." James flushes.

"Yes, well, I'm not exactly as smooth as I appear to be."

"Oh?" Evan asks, raising an eyebrow. James slumps, too tired of everything to even care about putting up some 'cool' farce. Not even for her.

"Yeah, actually I'm an awkward dork who constantly trips over his own feet, usually landing in doors or walls. I fell off a staircase once, luckily one moved in below it in time to catch me but, well, I was very concussed."

"You are _definitely_ a dork. But I knew that already."

"You did, did you?"

"Mmhmm, see, the wall that has your bathroom attaches to the wall that has the girls' bathroom, and we have _all_ heard you singing in the shower," She tells him, he blushes furiously, "We find your duets with Black particularly adorable." James' face falls at the mention of his brother. Lily looks at him in concern, "What's going on James? Between all of you?" James sighs.

"I really don't know."

* * *

Two days later she appears again, waiting him out at the bottom of the stairs to his dormitory.

"James!" James looks around, smiling when he sees her.

"Evans, hi."

"You can call me Lily, if you want." James can't help the bright grin that covers his face as he nods.

"All right, Lily."

"Listen, about your friends –"

"Ev…erm…Lily, I know you only want to help, but –"

"I think Severus has been harassing Remus and Peter." James blinks at her, his sentence completely forgotten.

"What? Are they okay?"

"Do they _seem_ okay to you?"

"How long has this been going on?" Lily shrugs.

"I don't know exactly, but he made it seem like it didn't take long." James frowns, "He likes mind games, James. And he's _good_ with it. Trust me on that," She says, the last bit coming out rather sadly. James makes a mental note to bring that up should they ever get close enough and it's appropriate.

"Well, he's certainly done a lot of damage," James states, sounding annoyed and sad, "I don't know how to fix this, Lily," he tells her, she looks just as concerned before she walks forward and hugs him.

"You won't have to alone."

* * *

The next day the two are in the library.

"I don't see what this is going to do to help," James says grumpily, Lily rolls her eyes.

"That's simple, you said Peter's been spending time in here, we're going to find him and see what he's up to. We might work out what's bothering him and be able to fix…it…" James turns to see what she's looking at, his breath catches in his throat.

"Peter?" He breaths as he watches his best friend sitting with a bunch of dangerous Slytherins. James books it out of the library (Heh, books, library, I'll just go now.)

"James! Wait!" Lily calls as she hurries after him.

"Oh god Peter," He says, pulling at his hair and freaking the freak out.

"James?" She asks, but he's hyperventilating at this point.

"What's he doing?! He's going to be killed and he-I-I don't…"

"Okay, take some deep breaths Jim, okay? Like this, in…and out…and in…and out." The two continue this for some time before he finally settles.

"Thanks," James says as he sits on the ground in a corridor, Lily sits in front of him, taking his hands.

"I didn't know you and Peter are that close."

"Pete and I met in pre-school," James tells her, she seems surprised, "He's been my best friend ever since."

"What about Black?"

"Sirius is my brother. I mean, all four of us are family and very close friends, but Sirius is my brother and Pete-y is my best friend. Just like Remus is Sirius' best mate. Doesn't mean Remus means any less to me than Peter does, it just means we…I don't know, have less of a connection, I guess? Remus and I don't have tons in common anyway. Not to say he isn't one of my best mates but…I'm rambling aren't I? I do that when I'm freaking out, sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it's kind of cute." James blushes and curses himself for continuing to make a fool of himself in front of Lily.

"Lily, why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? Why do you care if me and my mates are having a tiff?" Lily frowns.

"I have this sister named Petunia. She and I were really close when we were little, and when I started being able to do freaky things, she thought it was the coolest thing _ever_ ," Lily tells him with a smile, James chuckles slightly, then Lily frowns, "I met Severus and he…well, for reasons I won't mention, he doesn't have a high opinion of muggles. Anyways, he started making subtle comments about muggles being less than magic folk. Petunia didn't like him, started to resent the whole situation. Pretty soon I wasn't magical, I was a freak. She and I don't talk much anymore, she hates me, actually. He isolated me from her, made me dependent on him for company I guess. By the time we came to Hogwarts, I couldn't be without him, not really. I mean, everyone else would turn against me, right? That's why I was so protective of him. I couldn't see past him being the one to stick by me when Petunia turned on me." James pulls her into a hug, "He only hates you lot because you like me. Then he ruined things with me and I started to realise everything he'd done and he blames that on you lot as well. I don't want you guys to lose each other like I did Petunia, and it's my fault he's coming after you at all." James shakes his head.

"No, it's not. The timing doesn't fit. He's spoken to Remus and Peter, not Sirius or I. He's after revenge for something that happened a couple of months ago." Lily frowns.

"Does this have something to do with the particularly bad full moon Remus had that he wouldn't tell me about?" James' eyes widen as he pushes her away a bit.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She smiles at him.

"You know, it's like I'm seeing you for the first time these past few days," She comments, he seems confused, "I worked out the truth years ago, James. Remus and I have spoken about it, it's all good." He seems wary but nods.

"Right well, yes, it is."

"We can still fix this. You just have to talk to them." James nods.

"I need to start with Peter. Then Sirius, we'll need us all to deal with Remus. I've never seen him so angry and it's at all of us." Lily sighs with a frown.

"What the hell could he have said to him?" James frowns.

"Quite a bit I'm afraid."


	3. 2 Peter

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

Peter stews angrily as he paces the length of the dorm after leaving the others that morning in the Great Hall.

 _How dare they? Really? Acting like I don't have a valid point. Just because I want to think for myself for a change, suddenly everything's gone by the wayside? And what's crawled up Moony's arse anyway? Ridiculous._

 _Snivellus was right. I'm nothing to them. Well fine. Then they'll be nothing to me._ He nods to himself decisively before pulling out some comic books and settling in to read for a while. He decides very pointedly that he is not thinking on things and that he's only still feeling angry because there's a character in his comic with a douche-y haircut being a twat to his teammates.

Eventually Remus comes back, he ignores Peter entirely as he does homework. Peter doesn't feel the need to break the silence. He's not angry at Remus, but he's getting the feeling that Remus is angry at him and that's ticking him off a bit.

Then Sirius and James come back, arguing as they walk in. Within moments James and Remus are yelling at each other again. Just as quickly Peter's defending himself against Sirius and James as well while Remus continues lashing out at everyone. Peter storms out not long after.

He has a friend in Hufflepuff who is more than happy to put him up for a while. Between that and classes, he actually manages to find some peace.

It's not perfect, they are still around after all and he accidentally runs into Remus when he's grabbing some things from the dorm during which he gets very pointedly ignored again, as though everything is _his_ fault somehow. He storms out in a huff. But other than that, things aren't so bad.

Then he's in the library, three days after the fight began.

 _Is it really one fight when it's so many people about so many things most of which aren't even known to everyone?_

He's sitting and doing work, yes miracles do exist, when Snivellus himself walks over.

"Pettigrew."

"Snape."

"I see I was right then." Peter glares at the book he's reading.

"I don't know what you mean."

"I did warn you that they'd abandon you if you didn't blindly follow them."

"This has nothing to do with that!"

"Oh _really_? Y–"

"Leave him alone Snape," Avery directs, Snape sneers but scurries off.

"Erm, thanks," Peter tells him awkwardly.

"Not at all, mind if we sit?" Peter shakes his head. Suddenly he's sat at a table with Avery, Mulciber, and Barty Jr.

He's pretty sure they are all literally insane.

* * *

He might still be annoyed, but it's a relief when Lily walks up to them two days later, hanging out on the steps, and pulls him aside.

"Are you insane?!" She whispers furiously, he glares at her but…can't exactly deny it, "Come with me. Now." He follows.

* * *

"What is this?" Peter demands when Lily leads him back to the dorm where James was waiting.

"Well, for one, an intervention, and for two, a chance to sort stuff out," James replies, "Probably not in that order." Peter glares at him, he clears his throat, "Would you have a seat please?" Peter hesitantly sit on the edge of Sirius' bed, across from James' seat on Remus' bed, "I want to talk this out, but I don't really know what it is you're angry about. Not originally anyway, we've all said some hurtful things over the last five days."

"I've barely spoken to any of you in the last five days."

" _Regardless_ , what is it that's been bothering you?" Peter's gaze flicks to Lily who is leaning back against he closed door. It's supposed to look casual, but Peter's pretty sure she's also ensuring he can't escape.

"I follow you lot around and never think for myself. I _hate_ it." James seems confused.

"Never think for yourself?" Peter shrugs.

"That's what everyone says." James seems confused.

"I'm going to chime in before there's another misunderstanding because James doesn't appear to know what is happening. It often looks, at least from the outside, like you and Sirius call the shots while Remus and Peter follow after. Even Remus seems to have _some_ autonomy to a degree, but Peter always trails after you following your every move and doing whatever you two do," Lily tells him, he frowns.

"Pete that's not true." Peter looks at he ground, flushing, "No, I mean it. No one else gets how we work. They don't know what we're all really like. They don't know that Sirius does the majority of the research when we need spells and such for our plans, they don't know that you're the one who does most of the fieldwork, don't know that Remus comes up with most of our ideas and it's Sirius who finds out whether or not it can actually be pulled off. They don't know the hours I spend talking with you over every inch of a plan to get your opinion because you are smart and your thoughts _matter_. We're a team, we all contribute, we wouldn't work if we didn't. We've been friends since we were kids Pete-y, way longer than the others. I know Sirius is my brother, but you're my best friend. When something's going on, _you_ are the one I talk to first, unless it's prank related but only because Sirius is meant to work out if it's feasible and Remus will help if it's only half an idea. My point is, you don't follow us around, you follow the plan that you help to make." Peter smiles slightly sheepishly.

"I guess I just let him get under my skin."

"Then Severus did speak to you?" Lily asks, Peter frowns as he nods. James and Lily share a significant look.

"We think he may have with Remus as well. Look, Pete, whatever he said, it's not true. What is true is that I miss you and that Remus blatantly said he doesn't want to be a Marauder anymore."

"He what?!" Peter asks, jumping up, James nods, "We have to find him and fix this Prongs!"

"I know, and we will. I have to sort things out with Sirius first."

"You haven't yet?" Peter asks, confused. He figured James would have spoken to Sirius first.

"I wanted to sort things here first."

"Plus, Sirius wasn't hanging out with pureblood fanatics," Lily adds, Peter chuckles a little despite himself.

"Yeah, they…really are something," Peter says, making a face that shows exactly what that something is, the other two laugh.

"Well, when we get the band back together, you can tell us all about your time on the other side."

"You should do this one on your own Jim," Lily tells him, he nods.

"We'll go find Remus after and Peter and Sirius can talk?" Lily nods. James smiles at Peter before walking out.

"So…Jim, huh?"

"Don't start with me Pettigrew."

Peter snickers.


	4. 3 Sirius

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

Sirius goes straight to the astronomy tower after leaving the Great Hall. He knows Remus will go to the library, James the Quidditch pitch, and Peter the dormitory. They all have places they go to when they need to be alone, and Sirius knows all of them. Of course he does, they're best friends.

 _Not exactly acting like great friends right now though, are they?_

 _Okay so, maybe I was cruel to Remus, but he started it! Just like Peter did last night. No empathy, no sympathy, who does he think he is? I bloody risked my life to become an Animagus for my friend, abandoned a family who, yes, perhaps isn't fond of me, but was still my family, because I believed their views inhumane. What unempathetic or unsympathetic person would do_ that _hmm?_

Sirius sighs as he paces along the astronomy tower.

He can see the Quidditch pitch from here and sees someone flying around.

 _Three guesses who_ that _is. Shoddy work, clearly didn't even go back to the dorm to fetch his own broomstick. Blasted school brooms are never very good._ He thinks to himself as he takes a seat, legs hanging over the edge.

 _Why is this happening?_ He wonders, _everything was fine and now James is apparently angry at Remus, Peter randomly hates me and is angry at James, I'm angry at him for being a twat, which is fair enough, only now I'm also kind of pissed at Remus who is, obviously, really angry at all of them. Honestly, making a crack about my family? That's too far, Remus knows that's too far. So does Pete._

Sirius watches James do his angry pelting the quaffle through the hoop routine he always does when he's frustrated. But that's good, it means he's frustrated and not actually angry.

 _Wait, who's that?_ Sirius squints as he sees someone walking down to the pitch. He has no way of knowing for sure, not from this fair away. But if he were to hazard a guess, he's pretty sure it's Evans.

 _Whaaaaaaaat…?_

Five minutes later the two walk back towards the castle, Sirius feels anger rise in him again.

 _All this time treating him like shit and now she's taking him away before I even have a chance to fix things with him? Not that I'm angry with him, he hasn't done anything. Don't think I did anything to him either but, given how much of a mess everything is, I can't be too sure._ Sirius frowns, _Still, what he said to Moony…that wasn't okay, even if Moony was a prat. A major prat. But still. No one upsets Moony._ Sirius sighs.

 _Does Remus even want my help anymore?_

* * *

Three days of loneliness. Three days of anger. Three days of any words spoken being screamed and cruel and harmful in so many ways.

Sirius has often wondered how long it took for him to actually start _hating_ his family. He wonders if he's about to have a chance to find out.

"…GIAGANTIC TOSSER!" Sirius looks up towards his dorm as he enters the common room, sighing and feeling extremely drained. For such a quiet lad, Remus sure can yell loudly. A talent he's certainly been showing off lately.

"Who's he up there with?" Sirius asks, grabbing Kingsley's arm as he walks past.

"Potter, who else? He's ignoring Pettigrew all together." Sirius nods, letting the boy go.

He decides to just hang out in the common room for a while. He plays chess with Frank, ignoring the continuing sounds of an argument until…

"SAYS THE BLOODY MONSTER!" Sirius' eyes snap upwards at James' words.

"Excuse me." He stands and walks up, not waiting for a reply.

"WHAT THE EVER LIVING FUCK IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" He demands angrily as he walks in, slamming the door behind him, "BECAUSE IF IT'S ANYTHING LESS THAN REMUS HAVING MURDERED YOUR MOTHER, JAMES, YOU HAVE ONE HELL OF AN EXPLANATION TO GIVE!"

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO PROTECT ME!" Remus sneers at him.

"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK! IT'S NOT ABOUT NEED, IT NEVER HAS BEEN. IT'S ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE'RE MATES AND WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER! THAT GOES BOTH WAYS MOONS, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE A BURDEN OR SOMETHING, MERLIN KNOWS YOU PUT UP WITH OUR SHIT TOO. SO DOES SOMEONE WANT TO CALM THE FUCK DOWN FOR A COTTON PICKIN' MINUTE AND TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" The room falls silent.

 _Come on, someone give some ground, please,_ Sirius internally begs.

"I don't want to be a Marauder anymore." Sirius looks at Remus, blinking.

"Oh."

"You'll just abandon your friends, after everything we've done for you?"

"I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING POTTER!" Sirius takes a breath, trying to remain calm.

"James, shut up for a minute. Remus, why don't you want t-to be a Marauder anymore?" Sirius asks, trying to be the rational one, to be level-headed, to find a solution to this mess before he loses everything. Again.

"What does it matter why? He's leaving us."

"You are acting like a spoiled rich kid whose parents have taken away his toy."

"Did my Mother put you up to this? Is that what's going on?"

"…no you bLOodY IDIOT!"

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" Sirius screams, the two glare at each other silently, "Remus, why?"

"Because you lot bully people and think it's fun. You won't change, you won't grow up, and I don't want to just go along with it anymore. I want to be better." Sirius' lip quivers slightly.

"What if we could be better too?" Remus' eyes look conflicted for the first time.

"You can. But you won't." With that he walks out, and with him, Sirius' every hope of the group ever being okay again.

* * *

Two days later finds Sirius once again sits on the astronomy tower, watching Evans and James walk into the castle together. He scoffs, looking at his hands as he angrily scratches at them.

 _I'm fine on my own. I don't them, I don't need any of them. Who cares if I literally have not seen Wormtail for four days, who cares if Moony's staying in the shack to avoid us. Who cares if James blames me for him leaving? I'm_ fine _, I am._

* * *

It's over an hour later that Sirius hears footsteps. He doesn't look up.

"Hey Mate," James says, taking a seat beside him.

"Have fun with _Evans_?" James sighs.

"I'm going to let that go. I know everyone's worked up right now, which is what I want to talk to you about."

"Ah, so you've come to tell me yet again how it's my fault? How I drove Petey away and let Remus leave?"

"No, Sirius. I want to actually _talk_ to you calmly. So I'm going to need you to be less defensive."

"I am _not_ defensive." James raises an eyebrow, Sirius glares.

"All right then. Look, clearly we all have some issues, and slightly more clearly, yelling at each other is not the way to sort through them. And we do need to sort through them. But there's something else you need to know first."

"What's that?" James hesitates.

"Has Snape spoken to you at all since the incident?" Sirius shakes his head, "No, I didn't think so. He hasn't to me either. But apparently he has to Remus and Peter. I think this was his way of punishing us for what happened since he can't openly hex us. Lily said he's good with mind games and she's not especially surprised he's gone and done it now."

"Oh _Lily_ said, did she?"

"Pads, Snape has been saying stupid stuff to our friends, whispering in their ear, and you're concerned about Lily?" Sirius hesitates momentarily, "Look, I saw Peter sitting with a bunch of Slytherins in the library. We need to fix this _now_ before someone does something they'll regret."

"Fine. What do you want me to do?"

"I've already spoken to Peter. You two can sit down in the dorm and talk things out while Lily and I track down Remus. He seems angrier than McGonagall did when he dyed her fur yellow. I don't know how to calm him down, but I do know that it will take all three of us."

"Is _Evans_ going to be there?"

"Yes," James replies, ignoring the tone, "But only to make sure we don't just scream at each other again."

"You and Evans sure have been spending a lot of time together lately."

"How would you know? You've been sequestered away up here for four and a half days just about."

"I can see the bloody Quidditch pitch from here you knob!" James squints out in the distance, lifting his glasses before putting them back on.

"Do I need new glasses?" He asks seriously, "How can you even tell who's out there?" Sirius flushes slightly.

"Well I…I couldn't _for sure_ but…" Sirius trails off.

"Padfoot, are you jealous?"

"No! Sod off, of course I'm not. I just don't trust her. She's never been anything but horrible to you for years, and now you're here telling me she's warning you of Snape's mind games? No, I don't trust it, I don't trust her, and I think she should definitely not be involved in anything at all. Let alone something as important as fixing our family."

"You're afraid to be alone again, aren't you?" Sirius looks back to his hands, blinking away sudden tears before looking back up.

"Aren't I already?" James frowns, putting his arms around his brother.

"You don't look alone to me."

* * *

The two head back to the dorm where they find Peter braiding Lily's hair. Or trying to as she gives instructions.

"No, no, the _other_ way."

"Like this?"

"That's the same way!"

"It is bloody not!" Sirius clears his throat, Peter looks up, dropping Lily's hair completely.

"Hi."

"Right, we'll find Remus."

"Prongs, I think I know where he is…I'm not sure _she_ should go there."

" _She_?" Lily asks, looking unimpressed, James sighs.

"I'll explain on the way. Sirius, Lily knows about Remus."

"What?!" Peter and Sirius ask.

"Oh, yeah, I worked that out in third year. Remus knows I know, don't worry." Sirius looks down his nose at her.

"You know that _thing_ I was saying earlier Prongs…"

"If anything this should be assuaging that."

"It's _not_."

"We'll deal with that later, I promise." Sirius looks at Lily suspiciously for a moment before nodding.

"Fine."

"So…" Peter says once the other two have left, "I said this to James already but um…I was sick of following after you two without thinking for myself. I know I don't really but, ole Snivellus got into my head about it and then I couldn't stop thinking about it and I just sort of exploded. I shouldn't have brought up your family, especially so cruelly. I'm sorry." Sirius looks at his feet awkwardly.

"We _do_ shoot you down a lot and ignore what you say. I'm sorry about that. Truth is…I get jealous, I s'pose. You and James are so close and…I don't know. I guess I'm scared to lose him. I mean, I am to lose all of you, but if I lose James I'll lose the only home I have left and…" Sirius trails off, blinking back tears again. Peter hesitates for a moment before walking over and hugging Sirius. He's not sure they've ever hugged before, but Sirius hugs him back, and after that, everything seems okay.

* * *

It's fifteen minutes later that a pale faced James returns with an angry looking Lily and an unconscious Remus floating in between them.

"What the hell?!"


	5. 4 Remus

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

Remus walks out of the Great Hall in a huff, just as the others do. He stalks to the library only…that's not where he wants to be. He turns, walking back in the direction he came and right out of the school.

He walks down to the forbidden forest, taking a leisurely paced stroll through the woods.

 _It's fitting. This is, after all, the problem. I mean, is it even friendship if I only stick around because I owe them?_ Is _that the only reason? I was friends with them before they became animagi, but was that just because I couldn't stand the thought of being without them? All the bullying and cruelty I've looked past so that they won't leave me, but if they were really my friends, wouldn't they be able to accept my boundaries on_ not _harassing students? Of course, that's not how they see it, just a bit of fun and me, the killjoy. The serious and boring Marauder, bloody swot, that's what I am to them. Doing Sirius' work when he gets caught up in research for a prank, or doing James' when he's busy taking care of the charms and such. Covering for Peter when he's off actually pulling it off. But most of them are my ideas, aren't I just as involved? Aren't I just as much a part of the group?_ Remus scoffs.

 _Not to them. Never to them._

* * *

The next five days are rather hellish. There's no break, not for Remus. If it's not his friends yelling at him, it's himself. They're right, he's right, Severus was right, his Father is right, everyone is right and none of it means a bloody thing. Right or wrong, it doesn't change anything. Nothing does, not anymore. Everything is exactly as it will always be. He will have someone he cares about and he will lose them. Always.

He doesn't regret for a moment his decision to leave the Marauders all together. He doesn't believe that his friends will stick around, can't trust that they won't just be using him if they do, and is unable to stop thinking about how Snape is right, about them, about his Dad, about everything.

* * *

"Lupin?" Remus looks up when he hears a voice, annoyed at the prospect of yet another argument with one or more Marauders. But it's not one of them that walks in, it's Severus Snape.

"Severus? What do you want?" He asks, curiously not rudely.

"Believe it or not, only to check on you."

"I do not." Severus gives an awkward chuckle.

"Look, I wanted to apologise. What I said the other day about Black and Potter…I'm sorry." Remus looks at him like he's grown a second head.

 _Is he joking? Wait, why am I asking_ me _that?_

"Are you joking?"

"No. I understand why wouldn't believe it but, still. Potter and Black have been cruel to me over the years, but I've seen you hesitate, seen you wanting to step in when they've crossed a line. You never did anything though and after what happened a few months ago…I just snapped, I guess. It wasn't your fault though, I'm sorry." Remus doesn't think he's ever been so confused in his life.

"Erm, thanks?" Severus nods slightly.

"So are you living here?" He asks, looking around the room where Remus has some stuff, Remus nods.

"Yeah, the dorm's a little…tense, at the moment. Probably better with just James and Sirius living there but, anyways."

"What happened to Pettigrew?"

"I don't really know," Remus admits. The two stand in awkward silence for a moment before Severus walks over to the piano.

"Did you lot put this here?" He asks, Remus shakes his head.

"No, I'm not really sure who did. I suppose it must have been the Headmaster."

"You play then?" Remus nods, "Can you play me something?" He shrugs.

"Sure."

Remus plays him Für Elise. Severus sits beside him on the piano stool, listening to him play until he's done.

"That was really beautiful." Remus blushes slightly.

"Thanks."

"Remus, can I ask you something?" Remus hesitates but nods, "Why were you friends with them?"

"I thought they cared about me."

"Thought?"

"I'm not so sure anymore." They sit in silence for a moment before Remus looks to Severus again, "Why are you friends with Avery and his lot?" Severus sighs.

"Protection. Being in Slytherin and being friends with Lily…it wasn't easy. Being abandoned by her was even harder."

"Abandoned?" Remus asks disbelievingly, Severus flushes.

"What you saw…that wasn't all of what happened. She has this sister, you see, Petunia. They used to be close but, after Lily and I became friends and her magic started becoming apparent, Petunia turned cruel. You know what people are like when something is different from how it is 'supposed' to be." Remus nods, he does, "I think Lily blamed me for that, though she tried not to. We came here and we were separated. Being a half-blood in Slytherin isn't exactly the safest thing. There are certain expectations…I just wanted to be safe, I thought she understood that. But she didn't, she blamed me for everything, like everything the others did was my fault. I was angry and shouted. Called her something horrible, as you heard, and wasn't even given a chance to apologise." Remus takes his hand, Severus smiles at him sadly, "I got closer to the others after that. I knew I couldn't fix things with Lily, would never get my friend back. Just like you with the Marauders." Remus looks down, nodding.

"I know what you mean," Remus says, because he's right. Remus is never getting his friends back, he's made damned sure of that over the last few days. Made a right prat of himself.

"I can practically hear you chastising yourself. Whatever went down Remus, it wasn't your fault, not entirely. It takes two sides to wage a war." Two sides, and there was, because they were all against him. He was so angry at all of them, of course they were. And why shouldn't he be angry, after everything? "You aren't alone though, Remus, not anymore." Remus looks up, finding Severus looking back at him intently, "You've got me." Remus smiles faintly, feeling relieved to have found someone who _gets_ it. He thought he had found that in Sirius, but maybe he was wrong, maybe Severus is right about that like he has been everything else.

"I'm glad." The two lock eyes, leaning in slowly. Remus isn't sure who starts it, only that their mouths meet and suddenly there's a hand in his hair and a tongue in his mouth and _okay so this is happening apparently._

"AHHHHHH!" The two jerk apart, looking up to see James and Lily and all Remus can think is…

"I genuinely cannot tell which one of you just screamed." Severus snickers, Remus does too.

Then something unexpected happens.

" _Stupefy!"_

And Remus knows no more.


	6. The End

_**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter**_

* * *

"Hold up, kissing?! They were _kissing_?!" Sirius asks, James sighs, nodding.

"What happened after you stupefy'd him?" Peter questions, James cringes.

* * *

 _Ten minutes earlier…_

"Stupefy!" Remus slides off the piano stool, Lily looks to the side to see James standing with his wand still pointing at the now empty space.

"Somehow I don't think that will help with your chances of getting him back," Snape drawls, James is positively shaking in rage.

"What…did…you do?"

"To him? Nothing. Just told him the truth about…oh a fair few things really."

"The _truth_?!" Snape smirks.

"Well, _my_ truth. It's all a matter of perspective really, isn't it?"

"Why are you doing this?" Lily demands, Snape's expression morphs to one of contempt.

"You should watch who you spend time with Lily, isn't that what you were always telling me?"

"I do watch who I spend time with, that's exactly why that person is no longer you," She says, taking James' hand in hers supportively.

"How _adorable_ the two of you are. I do hope you aren't expecting Remus to be at the wedding. Tell me, how do you plan to explain your little spellwork here? Or what happened to me afterwards? He won't believe this, won't believe you did nothing and I just let you leave with him, not anymore." James glowers.

"We'll see."

"Levicorpus."

* * *

 _Current time…_

"And you have no idea what it is they were talking about prior to… _kissing_ ," Sirius asks, looking extremely disturbed, James shakes his head.

"No, but I think we can safely say he's completely warped Remus' mind."

"Lily did say he's good with mind games," Peter points out, the others nod, Lily watching Remus on his bed in concern.

"What do we do when he wakes up?" She asks, the others look concerned too.

"Try and talk some sense into him I suppose."

"We'll start by finding out what the problem was to begin with and go from there," James suggests.

"That's if he'll even speak to us," Peter says, "He's been ignoring me for almost a week."

"And screaming in my face every chance given," James adds unhappily.

"I suppose I'd better take point then," Sirius says, the others nod, and settle in to wait.

"I still can't believe you stupefy'd him," Peter mutters, James groans.

"I panicked!"

"Mmrghh." They all look over, crowding around Remus' bed anxiously, he blinks his eyes open, "Why do I feel like I got hit by a truck?"

"Well, you cracked your head on the stool of a piano," Lily offers, "And the floor. And the piano itself."

"Jesus Christ Prongs!" Sirius says, James nods sheepishly.

"I will do pretty much anything to make that up to you," James promises Remus who looks confused.

"Err, Moony, what's the last thing you remember?" Peter asks, Remus frowns as he thinks, then his eyes widen and he glares at James.

"YOU ATTACKED ME YOU CRAZY BASTARD!"

"He remembers," Sirius mutters.

"Okay yes, but, in my defence, you were kissing Severus," James says, Remus glowers at him while a look of distaste appears on Sirius and Peter's faces once more.

"So what if I was?"

"Oh Merlin it's true," Sirius says, looking grossed out.

"Why would I lie about that?"

"A man can dream, can't he?"

"Guys this isn't helping!" Lily complains.

"What is Evans doing here anyway?" Remus asks, sitting up in the bed.

"Helping, or, trying to."

"Oh, like you were so helpful to Severus." Lily looks hurt but unsurprised.

"Remus, I think you may have some false information about what went down between Severus and I," She begins carefully.

"I thought _I_ was taking point on this?" Sirius asks.

"You were, then you were too busy being childish to actually help your friend."

"Okay, calming down," James suggests.

"Why don't you just stupefy them?" Remus asks bitterly, James nods wth a grimace.

"I deserved that."

"Look, can we deal with the Snape shit later? Can we just sort things out between _us_ first?" Peter requests, James, Sirius, and Lily all nod, Remus continues glaring.

"I'm not so sure the two are mutually exclusive."

"Maybe so, but only because he was saying things to you to try and cause a rift between us for revenge."

"Because you tried to kill him, I'd say that's fair enough," Remus says, Sirius flinches slightly. Lily gives James an incredulous look, James shakes his head.

"Later." She doesn't look happy but nods.

"Would you have thought that a week ago, Remus?" Peter asks him.

"I didn't know everything a week ago, I didn't know him."

"You mean you didn't know the inside of his mouth," Sirius mutters, everyone rolls their eyes at him, "Right, not helping, moving on. Did he speak to you six days ago or not?" Remus frowns.

"He did, what's it got to do with anything?"

"What's it- _everything_ Moony, it has _everything_ to do with it. Was he _not_ talking shit about us?"

"He was but he apologised for it. Not that I'd expect _you_ to understand the word."

"…he apologised?" Peter asks, looking confused, Lily nods.

"He does that, again and again and again, but he never really changes."

"You can't keep blaming him for Petunia, Lily." She looks at him in shock, so does James.

"That's got nothing to do with this," Lily claims.

"So what, you've suddenly deciding to be all chummy with a bunch of blokes you hate?"

"As opposed to you suddenly wishing to stick your ton...nope I'm not helping again, shutting up," Sirius says, stopping himself before he says more.

"Severus was being a dick, he apologised. He also came to check up on me and listened and cared, as opposed to _stupefying me_ when I do something _you_ don't like! I'm not your bloody _pet_ Potter, I believe we've been over this."

"I thought he'd cast a spell on you or something, I was trying to protect you!"

"I don't need to hide under your protection, I can look after myself."

"But you don't have to!" Sirius tells him, "Friends are people you can rely on, people who support you, who are with you through thick and thin, and that isn't him. We've made mistakes, but we love you Remus, we're family. We're _your_ family. Please, listen to us." Remus hesitates for the first time, Lily seizes the opportunity.

"Or at least listen to Severus." Everyone looks to her in confusion as she pulls out tape recorder, "I've learned not to trust him, the minute I saw him there I hit record." She plays back the tape.

" _AHHHH!"_

" _I genuinely cannot tell which one of you screamed."_

 _*Snickers*_

" _Stupefy!"_

 _*Thud*_ Everyone winces at the thud, Remus rubbing the back of his head and glaring at James who looks sheepish.

" _Somehow I don't think that will help with your chances of getting him back."_ Everyone looks to Remus who looks at the tape recorder with a resigned sort of air. He had hoped otherwise, but truth be told is not all that surprised. Isn't that how these things always go for him?

" _What…did…you do?"_

" _To him? Nothing. Just told him the truth about…oh a fair few things really."_

" _The truth?!"_

" _Well, my truth. It's all a matter of perspective really, isn't it?"_ Sirius scoffs at that.

" _Why are you doing this?"_

" _You should watch who you spend time with Lily, isn't that what you were always telling me?"_

" _I do watch who I spend time with, that's exactly why that person is no longer you."_

" _How adorable the two of you are. I do hope you aren't expecting Remus to be at the wedding. Tell me, how do you plan to explain your little spellwork here? Or what happened to me afterwards? He won't believe this, won't believe you did nothing and I just let you leave with him, not anymore."_

" _We'll see."_

" _Levicorpus."_

Lily switches off the recording, the room descending into silence.

"Figures," Remus mutters.

"Now do you believe us?" Remus looks up, rather incredulous.

"Nothing's _changed_ Padfoot. The last week isn't undone because it started with him. Those problems that set this off, they are still here."

"I know, and James, Peter, and I have talked through them with each other. Now it's your turn to tell us what in the hell is going on and how we can fix it," Sirius tells him, Remus frowns, looking at the bed.

 _What does it matter anymore?_ Remus wonders, _Clearly they don't hate me, it was all just misplaced anger talking. None of it would have bothered me if I didn't think it myself. It was the comments about my Father really, that got to me. They just don't understand, they don't get that I_ am _a monster, that I_ don't _deserve them. They never have, they never will. I don't want to hear them trying to cheer me up with stupid things they don't realise aren't true._

"I can't…" He doesn't really know what he is trying to say, but clearly the others do. Sirius moves to sit beside him, holding him close. James takes one hand while Peter rests his head on Remus' shoulder.

"I don't think you guys need me anymore," Lily says, getting up and walking out of the dorm.

"Talk to us Moons," James requests, "Please." Remus starts crying, he hates himself for it, but he can't stop. The others are shocked, they've never seen him cry before, but truth be told, he's been doing it a lot lately.

"It wasn't anything new, really, that he said. Same shit that goes through my head frequently. You guys not keeping me around, me being afraid, he brought up my Dad," Remus tells them through the tears, James and Peter look confused by the Dad comment, but Sirius understands and pulls him closer.

"I suppose my stupid remark about unloving families or whatever it is I said was particularly ill-timed then," Sirius guesses, Remus sighs, sinking into Sirius' embrace.

"Ill-timed but not undeserved."

"What else happened?"

"He questioned if you guys would have been so understanding if it were someone else you discovered was a werewolf. Or if I weren't your friend first. Would you have reacted differently?" He asks them, Sirius strokes a hand through his hair as the three really think about it instead of just brushing it off.

"To be perfectly honest, Moony, I don't think we'd have noticed," James admits, the other two agreeing, "But _if_ we had, well I can't know for sure, since it didn't happen, but I'd like to think we would have reacted the same way."

"H-He compared you guys to my Dad," Remus admits quietly, Sirius frowns.

"We aren't like him Remus, we would never say the things he said, even _before_ we knew you. And most importantly, we aren't leaving you, not ever. We'll always be right here at your side."

"We know things aren't easy for you," James says, "In regards to your self-worth and such, and that it all wears you down a lot. But Remus, when things _do_ start getting like that, please come to us. You're never a burden, we want to help, just like you would if it were one of us." Remus nods.

"I'm sorry I've been such a prat. And that I kept screaming at you all, especially you James. Also, I'm sorry about throwing that vase at your head." James chuckles.

"I'm sorry for also being an arse, to _all_ of you. And for stupefying you, Remus." Remus chuckles.

"Yeah, let's never do that again." The others laugh.

"Speaking of things to never do again, someone get Remus some mouth wash, a tooth brush, and a luffa that will fit in his mouth," Sirius calls dramatically, Remus buries his face in his hands.

"Oh god what was I _thinking_?!" Remus whines, they all laugh.

"If it helps, Lily had to recuse Peter from a bunch of pureblood snob-heads he'd started hanging out with," James replies, Sirius and Remus look at Peter in shock.

"Hey what's up with Lily being around anyway?" Remus asks.

"I hit myself in the face with a quaffle, gave up all dignity, was so depressed I didn't care about saving face, she saw the me under the douche, and now we're getting along well," James recounts.

"She calls him _Jim_ ," Peter tells them.

" _Oooooohhhhh_ ," Remus and Sirius say, James rolls his eyes, chuckling.

"So Wormy, about these Death-Eater wannabees…"

"Yeah they're _suuuuper_ scary people," Peter tells them, they chuckle, "Still, at least I never stuck my tongue down _Snivellus'_ throat! Gross Moony." Remus flicks his face, Sirius ruffles Remus' hair and suddenly they're all play-fighting like normal.

 _Severus was wrong,_ Remus thinks, _it doesn't take two people, it takes two_ sides _to fight a war. I just didn't realise my only opponent was me._


End file.
